In light of a new report revealing that it will take the Department of Education well into 2027 to complete the implementation of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is working to improve the situation for college students from farm families.

After the new formula changed a farm family’s expected annual contribution to their child’s education from $7,626 to $41,056, the Republican senator’s bipartisan Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act would reverse these changes that could reduce or even eliminate access to need-based student aid for farm families.

“As students across the country filled up their backpacks and picked up their pencils to head back to school this fall, too many families were left out of accessing financial aid,” Ernst said in a written statement. “Chalk it up to poor leadership from the Biden-Harris administration and a Department of Education that is out of touch with rural America.”

“There can be no more delay for fixing the Biden-Harris FAFSA fiasco for next year,” she added. “My solution would support farm families trying to responsibly finance their child’s education, instead of forcing them to sell off the farm. Class is back in session, and the Department of Education must turn their homework in on time so students don’t miss out due to bureaucratic bungling.”

The new Government Accountability Office report revealed major errors made during the so-called “simplified” FAFSA rollout that led to a 9 percent decrease in 2024 FAFSA submissions for high school seniors, including that:

• 74 percent of incoming calls for support went unanswered in the first five months of the new form,

• Graduate students were being incorrectly informed that they are eligible for Pell Grants,

• It took families an average of five days to complete a form that the Department claimed would take 15-20 minutes

• Students who submitted a paper FAFSA did not receive confirmation for more than seven months.

“Students decided not to attend Iowa Central Community College this year due to the newly imposed family asset in the Student Aid Index used for financial aid,” said Jim Kersten the college’s vice president of government affairs and external relations. “If they have to take out loans for their education, many of our students will go right into the workplace or start working on their family farm instead of pursuing a degree.”

“We faced many challenges following these changes including FAFSA completion delays, students not having FAFSA results in time to make their college decision, schools unable to make financial aid offers, and FASFA corrections not made until August,” he added. “In addition, some parents with multiple children reached out to ask why their aid was so different from what their older children had received in years past. Their income was basically the same, but they no longer qualified for need-based aid which includes work-study jobs and subsidized loan funds.”

He said he is pleased that Ernst is working with Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, and others to solve this problem.

The FAFSA form is typically accessible to students on Oct. 1 of each year to allow ample time to submit financial information before state and school-specific deadlines for aid eligibility. However according to Ernst., due to incomplete planning measures, the Department of Education released last year’s version three months late, drastically condensing the timeline for families to submit for aid. She said the late rollout came with additional challenges, including changes that could reduce or eliminate access to need-based student aid for farm families and small business owners.